Alzheimer's disease progresses through several stages.
There are four stages of Alzheimer's disease:
1) Pre-dementia
These early Alzheimer's symptoms are most often chalked up to simple aging or stress. These symptoms may show themselves up to eight years prior to actual full-blown Alzheimer's and should only affect complex daily activities. Short term memory loss or an inability to retain new information are the most obvious. NOTE: At the time of diagnosis, an individual has usually progressed beyond the early dementia stage of Alzheimer's disease.
The problems in this stage can be very subtle;
A) Reduction in attentiveness
B) Difficulty planning
C) Less flexibility when things don't go as planned
D) Loss of abstract thinking
E) Loss of the meaning of memories and conceptual relationships
F) Apathy
2) Early dementia
Increased impairment of learning and short-term memory leads to a definitive diagnosis. Loss of semantic memory, or learned facts, occurs first followed by loss of memory of how to do simple tasks, implicit memory.
Simple communication is still possible, but language problems begin to show. Most people can usually still perform simple tasks independently, but need help with more complicated tasks.
3) Moderate dementia
Mental deterioration eventually makes independent living improbable with patients unable to perform most daily living tasks. Problems speaking and inability to recall words worsen. Written communication skills are also lost.
Gross motor skills start to suffer, so the risk of falling increases. The patient may fail to recognize close relatives. Long-term memory now starts to become impaired.
Other common problems at this stage are:
A) Wandering
B) Severe irritability aggression, and bouts of crying
C) Resistance to care giving.
D) Sun downing
E) Delusional symptoms
F) Urinary incontinence
Patients begin to lose awareness of their own disease progression and limitations.
4) Advanced dementia
In the last stages of Alzheimer's, the patient is completely dependent on caregivers as they cannot perform the easiest tasks unaided. Mobility decreases to the point where they are bed ridden and cannot feed themselves.
Speech is reduced to simple words or phrases at the most, but patients can usually relate emotional signals. Aggressiveness may be present, but apathy and exhaustion are more common. Cause of death is typically infection of pressure ulcers, pneumonia, not the disease itself.
So what are NOT considered Alzheimer's symptoms?
1) Occasionally forgetting names or appointments yet realizing later that you forgot
2) Making occasional errors when paying your bills or balancing your checkbook
3) Needing some help to use the microwave or set the video recorder
4) Forgetting what day of the week it is for a moment
5) Sometimes having trouble finding the right words to describe something
6) Misplacing small things once and a while
7) Sometimes tired of work, social, or family obligations
8) Being stubborn and becoming irritated when things aren't done 'your way'
Because Alzheimer's disease places a huge burden on caregivers, usually a spouse or children of the patient what anti aging measure you adopt now to prevent this terrible condition will pay huge dividends years from now for you and your family.
Your life, make it good, make it last! Christopher Gladden
Christopher Gladden first became interested in health, fitness, and anti-aging after vowing to to live a longer and healthier life than his father who's poor lifestyle choices contributed to his demise at the young age of 49.
He hopes to inspire others to embrace good health and Anti-aging as well. You can learn more at his website; http://anti-aging-and-longevity.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Gladden
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